NCC
NCC was a registry number prefix used on starships in service with the Federation Starfleet. ( ) In the mirror universe, NCC was used on ships of the Terran Empire. ( ) Vessels using this prefix were listed in the Starfleet Registry. ( ) NCC registries Starships Runabouts Shuttles Alternate NCC registries Mirror universe NCC registries Alternate reality NCC registries Vision or illusion NCC registries Appendices Background information ]] It has never been established in canon why the letters NCC or NX were chosen, what they stood for, or even if the latter has any relation to the . In the 23rd and 24th centuries, NX was used to designate an experimental, prototype starship, while NCC would be seen on a standard, regular-production starship. Several closeups in of a registry number on an Enterprise shuttlecraft show the prefix as N.C.C., suggesting the letters are in fact an abbreviation. The licensed publication Star Trek Blueprints (sheets 1 & 3), which was the work of Franz Joseph, designate the abbreviation to stand for the "''Naval 'C'onstruction 'C'ontract Number" of a starship, akin to the real world maritime ing practice. While MA considers a very limited amount of Franz Joseph's work as valid background information for canon purposes, insofar it had actually made onscreen appearances, the abbreviation explanation has not been part of it and remains apocryphal. Still, Joseph's work was once considered "official" by the franchise and, ranking among the very first published works of this kind, enjoyed considerable popularity in "Trekdom" at the time, and his explanation of the abbreviation appears to be the more commonly accepted one by themA less common alternative to Franz Joseph's designation, "Navigational Contact Code", has been floating around in fan circles. This designation originated from David John Nielsen's and Todd Allan Guenther's Ships of the Star Fleet reference book series. However, both works are unlicensed fan fiction, and further dissertation on the designation is outside the purview of MA.. As " " the designation has been adopted by some Star Trek novelists, such as the below mentioned Diane Carey. As for the use of NCC as a prefix for Starfleet registry numbers, its designer Matt Jefferies said, when he conceived the prefix in 1964, that the registries for American civil aircraft are preceded by NC, and Soviet craft used a prefix of CCCC, and as such, he more-or-less combined the two. His philosophy was, "If we do anything in space, we (Americans and Russians) have to do it together." In contrast, the claims that the second C was just an arbitrary addition to make the registry look better. This notion had actually been confirmed by Jefferies himself on another occasion, "Since the 1920's, N has indicated the United States in Navy terms, and C means 'commercial' vessel. I added an extra C just for fun. Interestingly, Russia's designation is CCC ''Jefferies meant The Soviet Union. So The N and C together made it kind of international." (Star Trek: The Original Series Sketchbook, p. 62; ''Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 2, p. 69)) Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 231 from Richmond, Virginia claims that the registry for the original was inspired by the 1935 WACO Model YOC aircraft owned by Matt Jefferies – his airplane had the registry NC-17740. Jefferies however, squashed this particular notion late in life in latter day interviews himself, among others in , as he didn't even purchase the airplane until 1968, while concurrently conceding that he never really put much of an effort into debunking the misconception. Conflicting registries Registries from Encyclopedia The following registration numbers were used by Michael Okuda in the Star Trek Encyclopedia, but were never explicitly shown on-screen. Apocrypha In Dark Mirror, Diane Duane's mirror universe novel released before , the Terran Empire is still in power during the 24th century, and starships don't use the NCC prefix, but rather an "ICC" prefix, like the [[w:c:memory-beta:ISS Enterprise (ICC-1701-D)|ISS Enterprise (ICC-1701-D)]]. The novel Best Destiny, by Diane Carey, gives the meaning of NCC as "Naval Construction Contract", taking her cue from the 1975 Franz Joseph Blueprints, as elaborated upon above. See also * Federation starship classes Footnote External links * * cs:NCC ja:NCC Category:Prefixes Category:Abbreviations